Today, preschool and other services
for young children are delivered through what is widely recognized as a
non-system, with programs like child care, pre-kindergarten, special education
services and Head Start operating in separate policy silos, each with differing
objectives and different funding streams. This uneven and uncoordinated
character of early childhood policy can impede access, quality, and return on
investment to these programs. Indeed, stories
of avoidable dysfunction-of low-income parents who are unaware that their child
is eligible for Head Start or Medicaid, of duplicative paperwork that child care
providers must complete to receive reimbursements, of kindergarten teachers
knowing nothing about the educational background of their incoming students-are
too common to be ignored.

The Head Start Reauthorization Act
of 2007 mandates that governors designate an Early Childhood Advisory Council
(ECAC) to develop a coordinated system of early childhood education and care.
These state councils went unfunded until a $100 million investment arrived in
February 2009 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the
"stimulus"). In June 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
began accepting applications for grants to support the councils, and states are
now working to bring them into full existence. Applications are being accepted through August 1, 2010.

Based on interviews with
representatives involved in ECAC development in all 50 states, this report
provides a snapshot of where states stand now. It shows that so
far:

19 states have councils
that have been announced by the governor as the state's ECAC, either through an
executive order or other communication.

30 states are in the
process of developing their ECAC.

1 state-South Dakota-has
officially decided not to apply for ECAC funding and will not have an
ECAC.

While most states are taking steps
forward, they vary widely in how they are tackling the mandate to establish
councils. This report describes several of those approaches, while also
providing a broad overview of federal initiatives that are supposed to play a
role in fostering collaboration. Past efforts to use councils to coordinate
inter-agency services have been hampered by funding constraints and a lack of
members with high-level authority to influence state policies. This time around,
stakeholders report more optimism in their ability to make an impact because of
the councils' inclusion of more high-level representatives and the presence of a
solid funding source.

But many challenges remain. The
report offers recommendations for ensuring the success of the ECACs, which is
critical as they lay the foundation for future investments in early childhood,
such as the Early Learning Challenge Fund-a proposed federal grant program that
is part of a bill moving through Congress this fall and
winter.

To help states create effective
councils, the report recommends that state policymakers
should: